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Health News Results - 70

FRIDAY, Sept. 6, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Suicide continues to become more common in the United States, with rural areas hit hardest by this ongoing crisis of despair, a new study reports.

Deprivation, isolation and lack of access to mental health care all appear to be driving the crisis in rural America, said lead researcher Danielle Steelesmith. She's a postdoctoral fellow at Ohio S...

THURSDAY, Aug. 15, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Folks taking opioids for chronic pain may run into trouble if they need to find a new doctor.

A new "secret shopper" survey of 194 Michigan primary care clinics found that as many as four out of 10 primary care doctors would turn away patients who have been taking the pain-killing medications (such as Percocet) long term. And that's true e...

FRIDAY, Aug. 2, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Cost often influences breast cancer patients' decisions about surgery, even if they have good incomes and insurance, a new study finds.

"Eligible women with early-stage breast cancer often have choices for surgical treatments that are equally effective and result in excellent cancer outcomes," said lead study author Dr. Rachel Greenup. She is a...

WEDNESDAY, July 31, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- High blood pressure exacts a far greater toll on poor people than it does on affluent Americans, a new, national study finds.

The data from the clinical trial, which was designed to treat high blood pressure (hypertension), showed that poor people were half as likely to have their blood pressure controlled over the course of six years. They...

FRIDAY, June 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Use of ambulances for non-emergency situations soared in New York City after the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a new study finds.

With the advent of Obamacare -- and expanded access to Medicaid -- out-of-pocket costs for an ambulance dropped sharply for many people, making them more likely to ask for one in non-emergency situations, the research...

FRIDAY, June 7, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Even though the drug naloxone can be a lifesaving antidote to an opioid overdose, researchers in Philadelphia report that only a third of drugstores in that city carried it.

What's more, although Pennsylvania's standing order law for naloxone (common brand name: Narcan) allows pharmacists to dispense the drug without a doctor's prescription, ma...

TUESDAY, June 4, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- When people who are addicted to opioids make the difficult decision to quit, the last thing they need to face are barriers to treatment.

Yet, a new "secret shopper" study suggests most addicts seeking a prescription for buprenorphine -- which helps people stop using opioids -- would have trouble even getting an appointment with a doctor qualif...

MONDAY, June 3, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- In what amounts to a double whammy for those living with HIV, a new American Heart Association scientific statement says these patients face higher heart risks but also major barriers to health care.

Three-quarters of people in the United States with HIV are older than 45 and have significant health problems at earlier ages than people without...

SUNDAY, June 2, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- More American women under age 65 have been diagnosed sooner and treated earlier for ovarian cancer since the Affordable Care Act went into effect in 2010, new research shows.

And, more women received treatment within 30 days of diagnosis, improving their survival odds, the researchers said.

TUESDAY, April 30, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Need to see your doctor, but can't take time off from work? There's an app for that. And new research shows patients find the ability to see a doctor "virtually" convenient and satisfying.

Nine out of 10 people who had a virtual visit with a doctor said it was more convenient than other ways of getting care, and it addressed their medical n...

TUESDAY, April 16, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Popular workplace "wellness" programs may not offer a big payoff for workers' health or bosses' bottom lines -- at least in the short term, new research suggests.

In a study of one large U.S. company, researchers found that a wellness program led some workers to change their habits: Participants were more likely to say they were exercising a...

THURSDAY, April 11, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Cancer drug shortages don't appear to have a significant impact on chemotherapy treatment in the United States, according to a new study.

"These findings are surprising in light of the substantial media and policy attention that the cancer drug shortage problem has garnered," said study co-author Mireille Jacobson. She's an associate profes...

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Older black American women are much less likely to be treated for heart attack and heart disease than white and Hispanic women, researchers say.

"Our study shows that black women still receive less recommended therapy for heart attacks and coronary heart disease than white women, and that improving these racial disparities is still needed," sa...

MONDAY, April 1, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Folks who aren't covered by private insurance are much more likely to get booted out of the hospital early, a new study finds.

Uninsured patients were also more than twice as likely to be transferred to another hospital and 66% more likely to be discharged outright, compared with people with private insurance, the findings showed.

THURSDAY, March 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- In a finding that brings bad news as America struggles with an opioid epidemic, a new report shows that only four states provide adequate insurance coverage for addiction treatment.

"We are calling on states to ensure health plans cover the full range of effective addiction treatments and address the serious gaps identified in this report,"...

MONDAY, March 25, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- State Medicaid programs must do more to make sure that people at high risk for lung cancer are screened for the deadly disease, a new American Lung Association report says.

Medicaid is the public assistance program offering health care coverage for low-income Americans. Medicaid coverage for screening high-risk people varies widely between st...

FRIDAY, March 22, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- More American women had health insurance and access to care after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was fully in place in 2014, and poorest women benefited most, according to a new report.

For the study, researchers examined U.S. National Health Interview Survey data on insurance affordability, access to care and the use of preventive services --...

FRIDAY, March 15, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Autism exacts a heavy toll on the families of teens who struggle with the disorder, but the fight to get treatment and services is even harder among minorities who live in poverty, new research suggests.

"We must understand that many families parenting teens on the autism spectrum are also struggling to make ends meet while trying to navigate...

FRIDAY, March 8, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Black neighborhoods in America's three largest cities are much more likely to be located in a "trauma desert," an area without immediate access to a designated trauma center, a new study finds.

Census data for neighborhoods in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles revealed that neighborhoods made up of mostly black residents are more often 5...

MONDAY, Feb. 4, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- One way to get better medical care and more value for your health care dollars is to find yourself a primary care provider, researchers say.

For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 70,000 U.S. adults who took part in a Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Of those, more than 49,000 had a primary care doctor and about 21,000 did not...

"Stress is known to contribute to disease risk, but the data from our study suggest a possible relationship between financial stress and heart disease that clinicians should be aware of as we research and develop interventions to address social determinan...

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 2, 2019 (HealthDay News) -- Despite being slashed by half in recent months, the price tag for advanced cholesterol-fighting drugs is still too high to make them cost-effective, a new analysis has concluded.

In March, the manufacturer of alirocumab (Praluent) announced that it would cut the cost of the medication from $14,000 a year to $7,000.

MONDAY, Dec. 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Women who call 911 for a possible heart attack may get different treatment from paramedics than men do, a new U.S. study suggests.

Researchers found that ambulance crews were less likely to give recommended treatments, such as aspirin, to women with chest pain. Paramedics were also less likely to turn on their sirens while transporting female ...

TUESDAY, Dec. 11, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- On any given night in America, more than 550,000 people are homeless, and they are being hospitalized in greater numbers, a new study suggests.

Despite expanded Medicaid and increased funds for health care clinics, hospitalizations among this vulnerable population are rising, said lead researcher Dr. Rishi Wadhera. He is with the Smith Cent...

FRIDAY, Dec. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- On the surface, the news looks good for America's mental health -- a new report shows the rate of people with serious psychological distress is declining, and more folks are seeking mental health care on an outpatient basis.

But the haves are edging out the have-nots when it comes to mental health care, a closer peek at the numbers reveals.

FRIDAY, Nov. 16, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Americans in states with the highest obesity rates are less likely to have weight-loss surgery, researchers say.

Why?

"None of the states with the five highest obesity rates crack the top 20 in terms of bariatric [weight-loss] surgery, and all but one are in the bottom 10 in terms of economic rank," said study co-author Dr. Eric DeM...

FRIDAY, Aug. 31, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Medicaid expansion through the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, may close a big gap in women's access to reproductive health care, a new study suggests.

In a survey of nearly 1,200 women of childbearing age enrolled in Michigan's expansion of Medicaid for low-income adults, one in three said the expanded coverage improved her access...

FRIDAY, Aug. 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Differences in survival rates between rural and urban cancer patients may be due to the kind of care they receive, a review of cancer clinical trials contends.

Research has shown that cancer patients in rural areas have lower survival rates than those in urban areas. For example, cancer death rates between 2011 and 2015 were 180 per 100,000 pe...

THURSDAY, July 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- In the United States, heart disease can ruin a poor family financially even if they have health insurance, a new study finds.

One in four low-income families with someone suffering from coronary artery disease had out-of-pocket costs that were far beyond their means, researchers found. And these families were three times more likely than midd...

FRIDAY, June 29, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Sticking with one primary care doctor may help you stay healthy and extend your life, according to a new British study.

Researchers reviewed 22 studies from nine countries with different cultures and health systems. Of those, 18 concluded that staying with the same doctor over time significantly reduced early deaths, compared with switching doct...

TUESDAY, June 5, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Eight million people in less-developed countries die needlessly each year, and that loss of life strips $6 trillion from the economies of those nations, new research calculates.

If the rate of preventable deaths continues unchecked, those countries could lose $11 trillion in gross domestic product by 2030, the researchers reported.

MONDAY, May 28, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Heart disease remains a major killer of the homeless, a new review confirms.

A combination of access to care, predicting who's at risk, and challenges of managing care all contribute to the increased odds of dying from cardiovascular disease among this population, researchers reported.

MONDAY, May 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Undocumented immigrants in the United States are often denied treatment for kidney failure until they have a life-threatening emergency. Now a new study finds that the doctors and nurses who treat them are frustrated and demoralized over it.

At issue is access to treatment for end-stage kidney disease -- in which the kidneys can no longer perfo...